Google have made Michael Jackson‘s hit album ‘Thriller’ available for free for a week, starting today (November 20), to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of its release.

The album will be available to US residents only through Google’s Play service, here. The version of the album available for free is described as a ‘Google Play Exclusive Version’, with some fans reporting that it appears to be in a demo format, rather than the original release version.

Thriller was released in 1982 on Epic, and was the third biggest selling album of the 80s in the UK. It’s sold in excess of 50 million copies worldwide, and features the hit singles ‘Thriller’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Beat It’.

The album was the UK’s highest selling release of 1983, and also came in sixth place in 1984, despite having been out for over a year. Alongside Jackson, it features Paul McCartney, Eddie Van Halen and Michael’s sister Janet Jackson. It’s Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album, and was recorded against a backdrop of disappointment, as the singer was unhappy with the commercial performance of previous release ‘Off The Wall’.

The series has been picked up by Warner Bros, and will have a heavy focus on the ‘This Is It’ Tour, which had been set to take in fifty dates before Jackson’s passing.

Jackson died after going into cardiac arrest in LA on June 25, 2009, 18 days before the opening performance.

Jackson’s enduring appeal was highlighted earlier this year when the rights to a song he co-wrote for the Simpsons, ‘Do The Bartman’, sold for £25,000. An anonymous buyer bought the track, which was a number one single in 1990, and features Jackson as a backing vocalist.
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